Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh chairs the virtual 21st ASEAN Political-Security Community Council Meeting on June 24. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and ForeignMinister Pham Binh Minh has urged ASEAN member states to further strengthenintra-bloc solidarity and cohesion, and enhance resilience in the face of challengesin the region and the world.
Minh made the statement while chairing the virtual 21st ASEANPolitical-Security Community Council Meeting on June 24, which was attended byforeign ministers from the ten ASEAN countries and the ASEAN Secretary General.
The meeting aimed to review the progress of the ASEAN Political - SecurityCommunity Blueprint 2025 and discuss ways to beef up political and securitycooperation among member states in the time to come.
The ASEAN must always be consistent in awareness and action, maintain acommon voice, and promote the observance of law in the region, he said.
Against a backdrop of rising strategic competition between global powerhouses,the bloc needs to maintain its centrality and at the same time improve existingcooperation mechanisms and processes to continue securing the engagement of andcontributions from partners, Minh added.
The Deputy PM went on to emphasise the importance of adopting acomprehensive, multi-sectoral approach to effectively address increasinglycomplex security challenges.
He called on ASEAN member states to improve the quality of theimplementation of the ASEAN Political - Security Community Blueprint 2025 inorder to make it contribute practically to regional peace and security andbenefit the people.
At the event, the ministers agreed that cooperation amongASEAN nations have been accelerated in various areas, including defence, counter-terrorism and fighting transnational crime, border management, anti-drug trafficking, trustbuilding and preventive diplomacy.
They shared a common view that ASEAN’s cooperationmechanism has played a significant role in strengthening concerted reliefefforts to prevent the COVID-19 from spreading further.
Theministers also held that the ASEAN is facing a range of complicated securitychallenges, including growing tensions in hotspots such as the East Sea, theKorean Peninsula and the Middle East, as well as emerging non-traditionalsecurity challenges such as health security, water security and cyber security.
TheAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups 10 member states, namelyBrunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam./.
VNA
